1

Old Egyptian
This is the language we know through inscriptions dating from the Old Kingdom.
This is the period from which the first fully developed texts came forward (ca
2700-2200 BC).

Middle Egyptian
This form of the language was used in the First Intermediate Period and the
Middle Kingdom (ca 2200-1800 BC). Middle Egyptian is regarded as the classical
phase of the language, and remained in use in literary, religious and monumental
inscriptions until late in the Graeco-Roman period

New Egyptian
During the New Kingdom the spoken language continued to evolve, while the
Middle Egyptian form remained in use as a written language. During the Amarna
period (with Echnaton) this tradition was broken, and literary texts were written in
New Egyptian (ca 1580-700 BC). An exception to this were the religious texts,
were Middle Egyptian remained the written language.

Demotic
This is a continuation of New Egyptian, which remained in use well into the
Roman period (ca 700 BC - 600 AD). This version of the language already had a
tendency to write words alphabetically, by making use of signs having the value
of 1 consonant.

2
Coptic

This is the final phase of the Egyptian language, which came in use in the 3rd

century AD. The Coptic script consists of the 24 letters from the Greek alphabet,
completed with 6 signs from Demotic to indicate Egyptian sounds that had no
correspondence in Greek. The Demotic language is of interest to researchers,

because it also used letters for vocals. Older versions of the language only notated
a consonantal skeleton (analogous to Arabic languages). In the 10th century AD
the Coptic language was replaced by the Arabic.

Table 1

Greco-Roman
Period 332 BCE
CE 395
Late Period 664-332
BCE

Macedonian Kings,
Ptolemaic Dynasty,
Roman Emperors

Second
Intermediate Period
1630-1539/23 BCE

New Kingdom
1539-1075 BCE

15th, 16th, 17th

Dynasties

18th, 19th, 20th

Dynasties

Demotic

Late
Egyptian

25th, 26th, 27th (1st

Persian), 28th, 29th,
30th and 2nd Persian
Dynasties
21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th
and 25th Dynasties

Middle Kingdom
1980-1630 BCE

11th (after
unification of
Egypt), 12th, 13th
and 14th Dynasties
9th, 10th, 11th (before
reunification of
Egypt) Dynasties

Traditional Middle Kingdom

Middle Kingdom

Archaic
Egyptian

Third Intermediate
Period 1075-656
BCE

First Intermediate
Period 21301980BCE

4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and

8th Dynasties

1st, 2nd, 3rd

Dynasties

Old Kingdom
2625-2130 BCE

Early Dynastic
Period 3000-2625
BCE

Figure 1

Old
Egyptian

Coptic